London, Freestanding Two Storey Timber Frame Within Shell
April 23rd, 2010 - Posted in Architecture Design, Modern Design
Carlisle Lane Flats Pringle Richards Sharratt Architect
Lightweight Structure Carlisle Lane Flats
Lofts in a Long Carlisle Lane Flats
New Window Frontage Carlisle Lane Flats
The Boundary Walls Carlisle Lane Flats
The planning concept was to develop the lofts in a long, thin strip on two storeys on one half of the site and an internal courtyard along the other half, which would provide an entrance court and a garden for the lofts. This was partly driven by the fact that three of the boundary walls are party walls and new window frontage could only be created within the site itself, pulling back from the rear gardens of the shops on Westminster Bridge Road. The construction concept was to build a new lightweight structure supported on a reinforced raft cast on the existing ground slab, because of poor ground conditions, to avoid piling or more substantial foundations. All the existing party walls were retained, with three of them providing ‘free’, fire-resistant, weather-resistant, rendered party walls up to 4 metres in height. The new structure is built as a loose fit, freestanding two-storey timber frame within this shell, rising 1.2 metres above the existing parapet.
The site was previously occupied by a single storey warehouse, which covered the whole plot. This had proved difficult to let over recent years, because of poor vehicle access from the narrow lane. After extensive negotiations, planning consent was granted for four residential units, the case being helped by the poor viability of the existing warehouse. The street frontage is only 7 metres wide and the site stretches 20 metres back from Carlisle Lane. The development consists of four one-bedroom lofts on two floors, built entirely of prefabricated lightweight structural timber panels, on a very tight urban site next to a railway viaduct at Waterloo. Two of the lofts are 45 m2 and two are 35 m2 – the site area is 160 m2. Two lofts are intended for the client’s family, who have two university-aged young adults and the remaining two to be sold or let to young people about to take a step onto the first rung of the property ladder. There was also a desire to use sustainable materials from renewable sources and wellinsulated and energy-efficient construction. The building was highly prefabricated in order to reduce construction times. Pringle Richards Sharratt Architect
Share This Post To :
